DIXON, ILL -- A Flint man who escaped from custody in
Genesee County, murdered two people near Chicago and led authorities on a
nationwide manhunt has died, according to Illinois corrections officials.

Former death row inmate Ricardo Harris, 59, was found
dead Thursday, March 20, in his cell at the Dixon Correctional Center in Dixon,
Ill., according to Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dede Short.

Harris was sentenced to death in February 2004 after he
was convicted of fatally shooting two people and wounding two others May 13,
1999, at a suburban Chicago liquor store six days after he escaped from a
Genesee County sheriff's deputy.

His sentence was changed to life in prison following a
2011 bill that abolished the death penalty in Illinois.

Short said there is no indication of foul play in Harris' death. The Lee
County, Ill., Coroner's Office says an autopsy has been conducted but a cause
of death isn't likely to be released for at least eight weeks.

Harris was convicted of the murders after he escaped from
a female Genesee County deputy May 7, 1999, at a Burton medical office while
awaiting trial on robbery charges, according to The Flint Journal records.

The deputy transported Harris to the medical facility and
removed his handcuffs while in the waiting room. The deputy bent down to
reattach an ankle cuff following the exam, but Harris overpowered her and took
her pistol. Harris also took her keys and fled in her county car.

"I just felt personally responsible," Genesee County
Sheriff Robert Pickell said of the escape after learning of Harris' death.

Pickell had been sheriff for roughly four
months at the time of the escape.

"It was just a terrible experience coming into an office
brand-new," Pickell said, adding that he still dwells on the fact people were
killed and injured following the escape.

Six days after the escape, authorities said Harris walked
into the Extra Value Liquor Store in Oak Lawn, Ill., and opened fire, killing
Ambalal Patel and Dipak Patel and wounding sisters Helen and Christina
Chisnick.

Authorities at the time said Harris did not say a word
during the shootings.

Authorities discovered Harris living in Charlotte, N.C.,
under an assumed name in August 1999 while following up on a tip received after
someone saw his photo on an episode of "America's Most Wanted."

Pickell said the incident led to a host of changes in his
department, including equipment updates and new polices on how inmates are handled.

"It helped us modify a lot of our policies," Pickell said
of the escape. "You just carry a sense of what could we have done differently."

Authorities said Harris had a lengthy criminal record
prior to the killings.

State prison officials said he had been in and out of
prison since 1989, serving sentences for burglary, auto theft and attempted
receiving and concealing stolen property, according to Flint Journal
records.

He was free on parole for less than eight months before
he was arrested in October 1998 in connection with the two armed robberies.

Harris allegedly robbed the 7-Eleven at 3302 S. Dort
Highway after he asked to buy a pack of cigarettes. Harris, who was armed with a 6-inch knife, allegedly
reached across the counter, grabbed the clerk by the shirt and told him not to
call police. He fled with less than $30.

He was arrested the morning of Oct. 14, 1998, after a
holdup at Mac's Food Fair, 1235 N. Dort. The clerk told police the suspect
pointed a long-barreled handgun at him, ordered him to open the register and "dish
out the cheese," according to The Flint Journal Records. Harris also allegedly
pointed the gun at a customer and ordered him to put his keys on the counter.

Harris allegedly led police on a four-minute foot chase
following the robbery. Police discovered a .357-caliber revolver loaded with
two hollow-point rounds, according to The Flint Journal files.

He was never tried in either case.

Flint Township police said Harris was also questioned in
the 1994 stabbing death of Barbara L. Crane but was released pending further
investigation. Then-police Chief Vane King said authorities did not have enough
evidence to bring charges in the death.

Harris' younger brother, Roderick Harris, was sentenced
in 2000 to two years of probation and 330 days in jail for helping his brother
escape. Roderick Harris was not involved in the liquor store killings but is
currently serving 12-32 years in prison after
jurors found him guilty of two counts of manslaughter and one count of
felony firearm for the June
2012 shooting deaths of Sandra Pittman and Marquis Meeks.